ABC of Architecture - Softcover

O'Gorman, James F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0812216318 ISBN 13: 9780812216318

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997

Synopsis

ABC of Architecture is an accessible, nontechnical introduction to architectural structure, history, and criticism. Author James F. O'Gormon moves seamlessly from a discussion of the most basic inspiration for architecture (the need for shelter from the elements), to an exploration of space, system, and material, and, finally, to an examination of the language and history of architecture. He shows the nonspecialist how to read a design in plans, sections, and elevations, and how architects, like other artists, make creative use of space and light.

About this title

Review:

James F. O'Gorman's A B C of Architecture is a concise, illuminating introduction to the complex subject of architecture. O'Gorman himself calls this slim volume a "modest grammar" on the subject, but it's much more than that. In elegant prose O'Gorman teaches architectural theory as he teaches history. If you've ever wondered about arches, domes, or the importance of concrete, A B C Architecture will likely have the answers you're looking for. For those unfamiliar with architecture, O'Gorman includes a glossary of terms and suggestions for dictionaries.

About the Author:

James F. O'Gorman is Grace Slack McNeil Professor of the History of American Art at Wellesley College and author of more than a dozen books on architecture and art history, including Connecticut Valley Vernacular: The Vanishing Landscape and Architecture of the New England Tobacco Fields, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0812216318
• ISBN 13: 9780812216318
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144
• Illustrator: McGrath Dennis E.